TOW The Honeymoon
by imagineif
Summary: What if Emily had arrived at the airport five minutes later? What will Ross and Rachel do on the honeymoon and will Emily find out? RE final instalment
1. Five Minutes Too Late

**TOW the Honeymoon**

**Five Minutes Too Late**

Emily ran into the terminal at Heathrow. She just hoped she had it right this time. She shook herself. Of course she had it right. She was just very very agitated - even more so after she had lost precious time running around the wrong one.

Her father had been unwilling to pass on the message that Ross would be waiting for her at the airport. He had said some veryharsh things aboutRoss but none of that had really helped. She had agonised over whether or not to meet him. He'd said Rachel's name. The ex girlfriend's name. She would never forget her wedding as long as she lived - the pain, the humiliation. How could he have done that to her? It was far far worse than calling out the wrong name in bed - in bed, there was often a loss of self control. But he had stood there and said...

But the first question, lying awake at a friend's house overnight, was what was she going to do about it? In shock, she'd gone ahead with the wedding. That's what you do at weddings, you get married. Once it was over, the horror of it all had hit her, she had hit Ross and she had fled. She had had to go, to think it over.

He had pleaded with her - but it was one thing for people to say things to you because they wanted to make you fell better - it was another for them to be telling the truth. Did that mean that she thought Ross was a liar? Well that wasn't right either. She thought of a liar as being someone who told something that wasn't true, knowing that it was untrue. But she didn't believe that Ross would do such a thing. He might be telling her something that wasn't true without knowing that it wasn't true.

What would his friends be saying? Rachel was Monica's best friend - she would prefer it if her brother was marrying her rather than some stranger. His friends would think so too. Nevertheless, he asked her to be there. She still didn't know what she was going to do, but if she didn't go, it would mean letting go.

Letting go meant giving up and she wasn't ready to do that.

So at the very last moment, mind made up, she had made the dash for the airport, and heard the final boarding call being given as she entered the terminal. Why were there so many people? Why on earth did all these people want to take planes all round the world? And why were all these other people there to see them off? In her rush she tripped over someone's bag and nearly took her own flight into the land of unconsciousness. She was helped to her feet by someone.

'Are you all right?' several people wanted to know. She had been shaken up all over and she felt a little dizzy - but she had to go and she took a step and stumbled.

'Here,' said someone else. 'It can wait.' She felt impatient but allowed herself to be moved to a seat to reorient herself. She looked up at the signs.

Gate closed.

Left alone at last, she got up to look around. If Ross had intended to be on the honeymoon flight then he hadn't missed it for her. Just five minutes earlier and she might have seen him.

She found a seat put her head in her hands. He would think that she didn't want to try. But getting upset at missing him wasn't going to help and she turned her mind to the problem of what to do next.

Of course she could organise to follow on the next flight. She hadn't made up her mind that she was going on the honeymoon after all but she supposed she should. But she had no ticket and she did not know where the honeymoon was. Oh, she knew the flight was to Athens on one of the islands, but which island? It was something Ross had organised on his own and any paperwork he had on that was either with him or at his apartment in New York.

And who was to say that he hadn't decided to go to New York? He might have bought a ticket to New York and might have boarded that flight. Looking at the departures board she could see that a flight to New York was departing ten minutes after the one to Athens. So if he'd waited in vain for her, he might have boarded that flight instead.

So she should go to New York. She did have keys to Ross's apartment - their apartment. She could see if he was there, and if he wasn't then she could find out where he was and then join him.


	2. New York

_AN: I hate giving the end away but I can see some people are going to be disappointed if they read it all and find it's not the ending they want. This will be RE (like two of my other fics). I have to say too, that I have a big problem with adultery, which is what some of the reviews seem to recommend for Ross. _

**New York**

Emily knew at once that Ross hadn't been back to his apartment. She walked around and opened all the windows to let the rooms air. That meant that he was in Greece, she supposed.

She went through his desk for the paperwork but found very little about Greece and nothing about the trip itself nor, importantly, the exact destination. Knowing that Ross liked his things 'just so,' she carefully left everything as she had found it and settled back to think what next to do.

There were the parents-in-law, but even if they were back, she was too embarrassed to go near them. She didn't know what their attitude would be - Ross's mother had been so over the top about how wonderful she was that Emily couldn't help but suspect that she could swing the other way at the slightest provocation. There was only one person responsible for the mess and that was Ross, but she knew how her parents and her in-laws had sniped at each other and she didn't know if any of that would transfer to her. She also knew that Ross was very unlikely to have told them where the honeymoon destination was.

Monica? She would be the most likely to know, but she might not be back yet. In any case, she was Rachel's best friend and might not be helpful. As for the others, they might not be back yet and she could hardly ask Rachel could she? What if Rachel still had feelings for Ross, what if they both had feelings?

She pinched herself to stop herself from going down that maudlin track, because it wasn't going to help. Running away had been a strong impulse but it had been wrong - now look what had happened. She had mislaid a husband. She and Ross had to sort out their problems face to face without outside interference. So she just had to get to Greece.

The only person she knew for sure who would be in New York would be Phoebe and she was the last person likely to know. But she needed to let someone know she was here, and out of everyone she could think of, she would be least embarrassed with Phoebe.

'Hey,' Phoebe said when Emily turned up at her apartment, 'You're back already.'

'Yes,' Emily said, sounding guarded. 'How are you?'

'I'm really sick of being pregnant,' Phoebe said, letting Emily in. 'It ruins everything. My social life, my appetite.' She was aware of another urgent problem. 'Excuse me,' she said and went to the toilet.

Back in the room, she joined Emily who was sitting on the edge of her seat. Phoebe could not sit up straight like that any more, and flopped back on her couch where one, two or even all three of the triplets pushed on her liver.

'I just thought since I was back that I'd come and see you,' Emily said.

'That's great - but where's Ross? Not that I don't want to see you of course but you got married only yesterday - or the day before - this time zone thing is confusing. I'd have thought you'd been inseparable.'

She hadn't really known what to expect. Phoebe had heard about the disaster from Monica and she hoped when she arrived back that she would hear more. To be confronted with Emily was a real shock and she didn't know what to say.

'What have you heard?' Emily asked.

'Well I heard Ross said the wrong name,' Phoebe said carefully, 'And then you ran away.'

'Is that all?' Did she mean something else had happened, Phoebe wondered, trying to sit up a little more, really hoping that she was not going to get any bigger. How much worse could it be?

'No, it's just... I can't find Ross. I was supposed to meet him at the airport but I was late and missed the plane.'

'He got on the plane without you?' Phoebe's mind raced. Monica and Chandler were on their way back, she'd forgotten what Joey was doing, but she knew he was accounted for. Where was Rachel? She was still trying to push herself up a little and Emily gave her a hand to help achieve a bit more uprightness.

'Well, he must have,' Emily said, a little dolefully.

'Didn't you want to follow him?' Phoebe asked. It was odd that if Emily didn't want to follow him, that she was here at all. If she was mad at him, she'd stay where she was, wouldn't she?

'The trouble is, I don't know where the honeymoon is. I didn't want to go to Athens and try and work it out from there - it would be impossible. And I wasn't sure he'd even gone there. I thought he might have come back here instead, only he hasn't - has he?' Emily asked anxiously.

'No,' Phoebe said, 'I haven't seen him.' She thought about mentioning the fact that she hadn't seen Rachel, but decided not to. That was a name she wasn't going to bring up unless someone else did first. If only she had been able to stop Rachel going - but you couldn't stand in the way of true love - although how did you know if it was true love, and what if it was true love on one side only? And then someone else would get hurt and there would be trouble.

And pain. Phoebe looked Emily who had visibly sagged at Phoebe's lack of useful information. She could see that Emily had done a lot of crying.

'I thought that if I came back,' Emily said, 'I could find out from his papers where the honeymoon was but I can't find it. He's probably got them all with him.' That sounded like Ross, Phoebe thought, wanting all the details at his fingertips.

'You really have no idea.'

'No. He did it all himself. He wasn't even going to tell me but,' she blushed a little. 'I - er, made him. But I only asked the name of the country because...' Her blush got deeper. Phoebe guessed that he had distracted Emily from further questions.

'And you really don't know where it is?'

'No. I was wondering if he'd told you,' Emily said.

'No, he didn't. He might have told Monica,' Phoebe said, 'She'll be back soon.'

'Oh,' Emily said faintly. Phoebe gave her an encouraging smile.

'She'll help.'


	3. Greece

**Greece**

'Come on Ross, it's a beautiful day outside,' Rachel urged. The hotel window opened out onto a view of the sea and the salty air flowed in, freshening up the room. It needed fresh air. She turned back to the gloomy room to see Ross slumped in a chair. 'We'll go out, you'll feel better.'

'You go. You don't want me, I'll just drag you down,' Ross said.

'I'm here to cheer you up,' Rachel said.

'You don't have to do that,' Ross said. 'You go out and do some sightseeing, have some fun. This is a holiday.' He sounded like it was a funeral.

'I can't have fun knowing that you're feeling like this,' Rachel said.

He'd been this way since he had got on the plane. He had questioned his decision to leave at length, once it was too late to do anything about it. Maybe he should have waited. Maybe he should have called, one more time. Had Emily even got his message? Her father was pretty hostile after all.

'Relax,' Rachel had urged. 'You need a break.' Not that word again - although come to think of it, if break a break between Ross and Emily meant the same thing as a break between Ross and Rachel... But Ross hadn't reacted. He must have been feeling really bad. 'It wasn't your fault,' Rachel had said.

'It was,' Ross had said, 'It was all my fault. I've turned this whole thing into a nightmare. I've hurt the woman I love, and nothing's going to be right ever again.' Rachel hadn't known what to say next. At this moment, she would have liked to have blamed Emily, but that didn't seem likely to be a popular move.

Sure, it wasn't Emily's fault he'd said the wrong thing, but she'd failed to turn up at the airport. Just because she was feeling bad didn't mean she should be making Ross feel bad, even if it was his fault that she was feeling bad. But Rachel knew that shedidn't really want Emily to act any differently. If she had, Rachel would not be in with a chance. She just hated it that Ross was thinking about Emily when he should be thinking about...

They had transferred from the plane to the ship to the island with very few words. They had entered the honeymoon suite having been given the full 'Mr and Mrs Geller welcome.' Ross had taken one look at the room, worked out that there was only one bed and had then started asking about another room.

Full up, he was told. A look of pity was directed at Rachel. What was wrong with the happy couple that the husband didn't want to spend the night with his wife? This was so embarrassing. Why couldn't Ross go with it? But while the hotel staff plied Rachel with food, flowers and sympathetic comments, Ross had gone to every hotel on the island in search of another room. Every single one was full.

'Ross, we can fix things tomorrow,' Rachel said when he returned.

'We can't sleep in the same room,' he said.

'Why not? We're friends, nothing's going to happen.' Well nothing bad would happen. He hadn't responded to her sympathy but it was possible that in the same bed, he might respond to comfort. Then she could tell him that everything was going to work out for the best, because she loved him and he loved her. The name meant something.

At the moment he was overcome with the embarrassment and sense of failure. It was only natural that he would feel bad. And sure, he was nice, he didn't want to hurt Emily - she hadn't done anything to deserve being hurt really. She was just in the way. Ross wouldn't be such a nice guy if he didn't feel a little bad about that, Rachel supposed.

Ideally, Emily would ring up, tell Ross that he was wonderful but it had all been a mistake, and that she could see that she wasn't the one for him so she would let him go...

'I'll sleep in the bathroom,' Ross announced, shaking her out of her fantasy.

'What?'

'The bathroom. I'll grab a pillow,' Ross said, suiting action to word.

'Oh no, I'll sleep in the bathroom,' Rachel said, snatching the pillow from him. But instead of tussling for the pillow he took another one and insisted.

Alone in bed, Rachel had felt awful, but she had been so tired that she fell asleep almost at once.

Today was a new day.

'I'll ring Monica, I'll see if she's heard anything,' Ross said. Well Rachel couldn't argue with that.

'Good idea,' she said, hoping that Monica had no news at all, or better, that Emily had chucked a huge hissy fit and offended everyone. Or even better, gone off with some other man, not that that seemed at all likely. 'And then we can go out.'


	4. A Fine Mess

**__**

A Fine Mess

Monica and Chandler stood in Phoebe's doorway, staring.

Hey Emily,' Chandler said, You're back.'

Yes, I was looking for Ross,' Emily said, I can't find him anywhere.' She looked at Monica's blank face. I suppose he's on the honeymoon, only I don't know where it is, so I can't contact him. I was wondering, did Ross tell you the name of the hotel we were supposed to be staying at? I've got to join him.' She looked as though she was about to cry but suppressed tears and said, Everything's been a disaster but if we can salvage one little bit of this honeymoon then maybe everything will be all right.'

It will be,' Phoebe soothed.

So do you know?' Emily asked.

Er,' Monica said. ' Chandler frowned and then improvised.

Yes he did, but she's left the name of the hotel at home, so she'll have to go back an get it for you.'

Aha, yes,' Monica said, That's right, I did. Tell you what, I'll go and get it now, you wait here.'

I'll come with you,' Emily said eagerly.

No, no, it won't take long. Stay here with Phoebe and Chandler,' Monica retreated and ran for her apartment, leaving Emily behind.

She had already called the hotel and found that Rachel was there with Ross. Ross was sounding miserable without Emily, so he was in the right frame of mind to join up with her. But Rachel being there was a disaster.

What do you think you're doing?' Monica had hissed, Isn't Ross in enough trouble?'

I'm just keeping him company Monica,' Rachel said.

Rachel,' Monica warned, He's married. Please tell me you two are in separate rooms.'

Oh come on Monica, you can trust us.'

You're in the same room?!' Monica had exclaimed.

He slept in the bathroom,' Rachel said, and Monica could hear her resentment.

Oh no, couldn't you get another room?'

No,' Rachel said. He tried.'

Why didn't you sleep in the bathroom?'

Because he made the decision,' Rachel said, Look, nothing happened.'

How could you do this? If Emily finds out, that's it, my brother's marriage is over.'

Isn't over already?' Rachel said. She didn't come to the airport. That means she's given up on the marriage.'

Don't be too hasty,' Monica said. What if she was late? What if she's upset? That would only be natural. She and Ross have got to talk, but now you've made it complicated.'

Don't blame me, Ross asked me to come.'

He what?'

He asked me to come — as a friend.'

You shouldn't have gone with him,' Monica said. He was feeling down.'

That's exactly why I went, because he was feeling down. How could he go on a honeymoon on his own, feeling so bad?'

I know, Rach, but this is going to cause so much trouble.'

Nothing's going to happen, and if Ross feels better, it will be worth it.' Having just spoken to Ross, Monica thought that he hadn't started to sound better.

Now in her apartment, she wondered what to do. As soon as she gave Emily the number, Emily would call and then she would find out that Ross and Rachel were together and there would be divorce number two.

She dialled the hotel and Ross picked up.

Ross, thank God, it's you,' Monica said. Emily's here.'

She's with you?'

With Phoebe.'

Oh thank God, she went to New York, that means she still wants to see me.'

She does,' Monica said.

Oh thank God for that,' Ross said sounding relieved, If only we can talk so that we can clear up misunderstandings.'

Including the one about Rachel being there with you?' Monica interrupted.

Oh no,' Ross said.

Oh yes.'

If she comes out, she's going to expect to find you alone in the honeymoon suite.'

But there aren't any other rooms,' Ross wailed. And I can't just ask Rachel to leave and have Emily take her place, the people at this hotel will remember Rachel — they'll say something to Emily about her if she turns up. Oh Monica, my marriage is over.'

I can't stall her for very long,' Monica said, Maybe only a few minutes. So think of something. Fast. And whatever you do, don't let Rachel pick up the phone.'

And returning to Phoebe's Monica gave Emily the number. Monica tried to stall her, Chandler and Phoebe following suit without understanding why, but they couldn't think of a good reason to stop Emily from going back to Ross's flat and calling him from there. When Phoebe heard what was going on, she said,

I just hope Ross can think fast.'


	5. Get Me To The Airport On Time

**__**

Get Me To The Airport On Time

Monica, Phoebe and Chandler were consumed with curiosity and after giving Emily twenty minutes to contact Ross, they all three arrived at Ross's flat to find her hurriedly packing.

'I've got a flight to Athens,' she announced, 'I've got to get to the airport quickly though. I was lucky to get it at all.'

'Oh, you got hold of Ross,' Monica said.

'Yes,' Emily beamed as she closed a case. Monica wondered how she could pack so fast but she supposed she only needed to repack what she'd unpacked a short time before. Her plan of stalling Emily further by interfering didn't seem feasible. 'It was so good to talk,' Emily said. 'If only I had been able to meet him at the airport it would have saved all this, but better late than never.' She rushed around the room closing and locking windows she'd flung open a short time before. 'It's going to be so good. We can have our honeymoon and put all that unpleasantness behind us. I mean, I suppose it wasn't really his fault anyway.' She disappeared into the bathroom while the others looked at each other. She returned with her zipped up toiletries bag, placing it in her other bag. 'Well that's me packed,' she said closing the bag. 'Thankyou for coming to see me, it means a lot to me. I know I'm a stranger to you all and I know that Never mind. I'd better go,' She picked up her bags. Chandler rushed forward to take the heavier one saying,

'I'll help you.' They all trooped out of Ross's apartment - Monica supposed they'd have to get used to calling it Ross and Emily's apartment if things worked out - and headed down to the street to hail a cab.

'We'll come with you,' Monica said.

'I think I might give it a miss,' Phoebe said. 'Hauling myself around is a bit hard at the moment.'

'Oh Phoebe!' Emily and Monica exclaimed. 'You shouldn't have come down with me,' Emily added.

'I'll be fine,' Phoebe said. 'You have a good honeymoon.' She kissed her cheek, and Monica wondered if that would be the last time they saw each other.

'You don't have to come with me Monica,' Emily said, 'It's far too much trouble. I'm used to catching planes and I don't usually miss them.'

'No, I want to come,' Monica said. She wanted to know what Ross had said to Emily.

'I'll come too,' Chandler said.

The taxi was taken and they all arrived at the airport in time despite Emily's anxiety.

'I really can't miss a second plane,' she said, 'That would be ridiculous.'

'How did you come to miss the first one?' Monica asked.

'The tube took longer than I thought - there was a breakdown, and then I ended up in the wrong terminal. I don't know how I came to go there. By the time I got to the right place, the plane had left - or at least, the gates had closed.' Monica realised that if Emily had arrived five minutes earlier she might have seen Ross get on the plane with Rachel. Even now that she was headed to Greece, something of the same sort might happen if Ross took her to the resort.

Emily checked in and breathed a sigh of relief at having done so. Now all she had to do was wait, and that, not for very long. While Chandler took a quick break, Emily said to Monica,

'Do you know, I think Chandler fancies you.'

'What?'

'I'm sure he does. He looks at you in a special way,' Emily said. Monica blushed.

'Do you really think so?'

'Yes, and you fancy him too,' Emily smiled. 'I think that's lovely.'

'Please don't say anything to Ross,' Monica said, not ready for the reaction of her big brother to this relationship.

'No, of course I won't, that's for you to say when you're ready. Are you officially together yet?'

'No!' Monica said, 'No, I mean we're not really going out or anything it's just I don't know if anything's going to happen.'

'If it's up to Chandler, it will,' Emily said.

'You should be thinking of yourself, not me,' Monica said.

'I'd rather think of you,' Emily said. She smiled at him as he returned to them, surprising him until Monica told him of this part of the conversation.


	6. One Is Such A Lonely Number

**__**

One Is Such A Lonely Number

'You mean you're leaving!' Rachel exclaimed, when Ross told her that he was going to Athens to pick up Emily, and that he wouldn't be returning. This was a disaster - it couldn't be happening. She hadn't had enough time.

'I have to. I can't bring Emily back here,' Ross said, beginning to pack.

'So you're going leave me on my own, in a strange country in a strange hotel.'

'It's not a strange hotel,' Ross said, 'You've talked to lots more people around here than I have. You know half the staff's names.'

'Yes, and they'll all think you've left me. They'll think I'm an abandoned wife. It will be so humiliating,' Rachel said. They'd stare at her, and whisper behind her back, speculating on what it was she did to drive him away.

'I'm sorry, but I can't stay here with you, especially not now that Emily's coming.'

'Oh Emily! Why does it have to be about her?'

'Because she's my wife, and this is supposed to be our honeymoon,' Ross said, as though she was stupid.

'Well she should have made it to the airport on time,' Rachel exclaimed. 'If she really wanted to come, she'd have been there.'

'Yeah well, she's coming now. Will you stop unpacking my things?' Rachel had started to take things out of his bag as he was putting them in.

'No, I won't.' She wanted to throw his bag on the floor and stamp her feet. He had to stop what he was doing.

'Don't you want my marriage to work? Do you want me to get a divorce?' Rachel stared. She wanted to shout out, "No!" and "Yes!" But that wouldn't be enough. She had thought that if he was alone with her for long enough, he'd remember what it was like between them. There was so much more between them than he had with Emily, who might have the ring but didn't have much else. He'd see sense, and realise that Rachel was the only one. Now Emily was coming, too soon, to mess it up. She was supposed to stay in London. She wasn't allowed to change her mind

'Rachel?' Ross asked, breaking in on her thoughts.

'Ross,' Rachel said, 'I love you.' Ross sat down suddenly.

'Oh Rach.'

'I can't help it, I love you. I couldn't stand being there, at your wedding, watching you marry someone else. When you said my name, I thought it meant something. I know you were trying to be fair to Emily but I thought, that was what you really felt. When we met at the airport I thought that this was a chance for us, to remind you how good it could be between us. It would be really great, can't you see?'

'Rachel,' Ross said slowly. 'I'm sorry, I, I don't feel the same way. You'll always be special, and, and I'll always love you as a friend, but there can't be anything between us other than friendship. You do see that don't you? What I said was a genuine mistake. I love Emily, and I want her back. I came here with you because I thought - we were coming as friends, that's all I meant, you knew that didn't you?' Ross looked at her anxiously. 'I shouldn't have come with you. That was a big mistake.' Rachel looked away for a minute and then said,

'Ross? Will you hold me?' He opened his arms and held her. Change your mind, change it, now that I'm in your arms, change it. You don't want her, you want me. All too soon he was pushing her away again.

'I've got to hurry.'

'I'll leave you alone to pack.' She got up and walked out of the room.

By the time she returned, Ross had gone. She knew he would have gone. He had a shuttle ferry to catch, to get to the mainland and if he missed it, he would be late for Emily. Even though he was gone, she wished he could have waited.


	7. Athens

**__**

Athens

'I've got some bad news,' Ross said, after they'd greeted each other. They had been kissing for quite some time, and it was only now that they had started talking.

'What's that?'

'The honeymoon hotel? Half the guests went down with food poisoning.'

'Oh no! Are you all right?' Emily studied his face. Because of all the kissing, they hadn't really been looking closely at one another. In fact they had been so close that someone in the arrivals lounge had told them to get a room.

'Yes, I'm fine, I didn't catch it.'

'Oh that's good,' Emily said. 'It would be so awful if you got ill. Have they fixed the problem?'

'No, people have only just started to get sick, so I thought maybe we shouldn't go back there.'

'No, certainly not,' Emily said. 'A honeymoon should be spent in bed, but not because you're sick.'

'Yeah, exactly.'

'So we could just go to another hotel on the island.'

'Er no, they're all full up.' Well, that was the truth.

'That's a pity. What about another island?'

'They're full up too,' Ross said. He'd tried and he'd tried, but he'd had no luck anywhere. 'Everyone wants to be on the islands. I thought, since we were in Athens anyway, that we'd stay here. We could do some sight seeing.'

'Have we got a hotel.'

'Er yes.' Ross pulled out a piece of paper with an address. 'I haven't seen it, I did it over the phone.'

They found that it was a hotel in the Red Light district. As they walked down the street, a man leered at Emily and made a remark, making her shrink against Ross.

'I think he wants to share,' she said in horror.

'He can have a busted nose, that's the only think I'm letting him have,' Ross said. 'We're leaving.' He started to lead her out of the street.

'What?'

'We'll go. We can't stay here.'

'It's getting late,' Emily pointed out. 'What if we can't find somewhere else? What if this room disappears while we're looking for somewhere else?' Ross stopped walking. That was a good point. Being without a room in a place where neither of them could speak a word of the local language was no joke. Sure there was the occasional sign in translation but that didn't help much. His eyes found such a sign, beneath Greek lettering was. 'Rachel's beauties will make you make you happy.' Ross shuddered, turning away. No they wouldn't. Emily had seen the sign too, but made no comment on it, instead saying,

'Let's at least look at the room. If it's clean, we'll use it and then we can look for another room. Or go home, if we can get a flight. I don't mind, I just want to be with you.' He gave her shoulders a squeeze.

'Okay. It can't hurt to look.'

The room was clean. There was no view from the window worth looking at. There was no ensuite, bar fridge or TV. Just a bed with plain covers.

'I'm sorry sweetie,' Ross said, sitting on the bed. He suddenly felt very weary. He'd tried and he'd tried but this was all he could come up with. He was a failure. If he'd waited for Emily then although he'd would still have given the ticket away to Rachel, he and Emily could at least have gone to a decent hotel in London. Not that this place wasn't decent, exactly but it was so ordinary.

'Don't be sorry. We could be in a gorgeous hotel feeling like death. Instead we're in a very primitive hotel, safe and well.

'But the stuff going on out there' Ross said in disgust. They'd never be able to tell anyone about their honeymoon. A red light district!

'What about the stuff going on in here? It will be pure, beautiful, and perfect.' She got onto the bed beside him. 'What does the rest of the world matter to us?' She touched his face, and he remembered that his brand new wife was very close to him.

'I wanted better for you. This room is so, plain and and.'

'We'll make it special,' she said, 'You and me.' He looked at her and thought, who the hell talks about their honeymoon to other people anyway?


	8. Missing Rachel

Yes, yes, yes, Emily (whoops, that's Ross's dialogue from the last chapter). Changing things from the show's storyline is what fanfiction is all about, and pairings are fair game. This fic is labelled RE to warn people who don't like RE pairings that this is just such a story.

**__**

Missing Rachel

They stayed for several nights, catching the flights that they had planned to take home. Ross had covered up for the fact that he'd given his ticket to Rachel by pretending that he'd lost Emily's ticket. Since he was able to get one for her without difficulties, it wasn't a point that she pressed.

Their honeymoon had been busy enough. They had found another hotel the next day and then had gone sight seeing. On the last day, they burdened themselves with shopping, even though they had started the last day saying that they were going to be sensible. But there was always a little something Monica might like or Phoebe would love or Chandler would find interesting, as Emily saw it. Ross didn't know why she was being so generous, although he liked her thoughtfulness. He looked out for Joey and tried to wonder about how he could get Rachel a gift without getting a matching one for Monica, Phoebe and Emily herself.

There were plenty of others he had to look out for. There was Ben and the rest of his family, there were the people at work. Then they saw things that they might like for their home. In a jewellery shop, Ross picked out some earrings for Emily. She seemed to love that shop, looking over things at length. She seemed to like the pendants in particular.

'Do you want something else sweetie?' It wasn't that he minded getting her things, he wanted to get her things, but everything had turned out to be more expensive than he had thought. He was paying for two honeymoons after all.

'Oh no,' she said. 'Let's go.' He thought nothing of it when further down the street, she gave all her bags to him to run back to the shop for her hat. After all, she really had left her hat behind.

At the airport, they avoided being over the limit by wearing several sets of clothing and putting as much as they could in their pockets.

'Are we even gonna be able to sit down?' moaned Ross.

'I hope we don't drop anything,' Emily said. She only just saved her hat from falling off her head.

'I really don't think it will help if you wear your hat on the plane,' Ross said, 'It's not really adding anything to the weight problem.'

'It's too late now,' Emily said. They'd got the things checked on. She sighed. 'I could do with a magazine to read. Perhaps I should buy one.'

'We can't possibly carry any more stuff. I've got a book in my pocket if you want something to read.'

'All right,' Emily started to explore.

'No, not that pocket - way hey, that's not a pocket!' Ross jumped.

'There's something in there, is it getting bigger?' grinned Emily.

'Move your hand!' Ross said. She took the other jacket pocket.

'Oh there's the book.' She took it out. 'Carl Linnaeus?'

'Great biography,' Ross said.

'Oh. It is to do with dinosaurs?' she asked dubiously.

'No, it's just something I thought would be interesting, for a change.'

'Ah,' Emily said, looking at the book. She opened it slowly and sat down, with care.

'Ooh,' I've got to go to the bathroom,' Ross said. She gave him a look. 'No, I've really got to go, I'll leave the stuff with you.'

He was on his way back from the bathroom when he ran into Rachel.

'Oh my God, you're here.'

'Yes, I'm going home.'

'Oh.'

'I've got to go home sometime and the date on the ticket you gave me was for today.' She could have changed it, of course but why should she?

'Did you enjoy the holiday?'

'How nice of you to ask.'

'Don't be like that Rach.'

'It was pretty embarrassing.'

'Oh.'

'But the island was nice. How about you?'

'Oh it was great just great.'

'Where's Emily?'

'Over th- ' Ross waved. 'Please don't let her see you.'

'Why not?'

'Because she might suspect that you were with me on the island that's why. She's almost forgotten about you - '

'Oh that's nice,' Rachel said sarcastically.

'I don't want her getting upset again,' Ross insisted.

'It's okay if I get upset is it?' Rachel challenged.

'No, I don't want you to get upset either. I don't want anyone to be upset.'

'Well you want me to go sneaking around, pretending I'm not there. Of course that upsets me. She's going to see me in New York too, you know. Do you want me to move?'

'No, New York's different,' Ross said.

'Gee thanks.'

'Just until we get back, please please don't let her see you. Do you want me to have problems?'

'Oh all right,' Rachel said. 'Where are you sitting on the plane?' Ross showed her the boarding pass. 'Oh my God, I'm two rows behind you.'

'Oh no.'

'Well Ross, I'm still catching this plane, so what's your bright idea going to be?'

Ross had delayed boarding by claiming to need to go to the toilet again, so that he and Emily were the last ones to take their seats.

'Oh it's so hard to sit down,' he said. He hated planes anyway and three layers of clothes plus things in pockets didn't make it any easier for him.

'Are you all right?' Emily asked. Her hat fell off and she kicked it under the seat in front of her.

'Yeah, if I'm careful with my breathing.'

'You were wrong about the hats. I'm not the only person with one.'

'What?'

'There's a woman two rows back from us. She's practically wearing a sombrero.'

'Oh,' Ross said, feeling dread.

'I suppose if she didn't wear it, it would get crushed in her luggage,' Emily said. 'Funny thing to wear though.'

'Who are you to talk?' Ross said. 'Your hat is big.'

'Come on Ross, it's not that big,' laughed Emily. 'Take a look at hers.'

'Shh! She might hear you.'

'No, she -' Emily saw his face, 'Oh all right.' She was about to look back again when Ross grabbed her arm.

'No. I forbid you to look at that woman. You're not allowed to. Absolutely not, no, naughty, don't.' She stared in amazement at him and then just shrugged.

'All right.' She opened the Carl Linnaeus book and then said, 'Oh, you'll need your book back.' She offered the book to him.

'It's okay, I've got another one.' He brought it out. It had something to do with statistics. He looked at her. 'Do you want to swap?' The classification of plants seemed more accessible to Emily than a book with strange symbols in it, and she said,

'No thankyou.'


	9. New York again

**__**

New York

Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe waited anxiously for Ross and Emily to return. And Rachel. They all knew that she was coming back on the same flight. What they didn't know was whether Emily had seen Rachel and if so, what she'd done about it.

'They couldn't have had a fight on the plane,' Chandler said.

'Why would they fight? If Emily has a fight with anyone, it's going to be Ross,' Joey said.

'I don't want them to fight,' Monica said. 'What if they got divorced? My brother would be divorced twice before he was thirty. And it doesn't have to happen.' If anything happened she would be really upset, and Rachel would have to take some of the blame. How could she choose to come back at the same time? But Rachel had pointed out that since the honeymoon was turning out so differently, Ross and Emily could easily have changed their flights anyway.

They saw Ross and Emily come through the departure gates carrying a ridiculous amount of luggage.

'Man, have you two put on weight or what?' Joey said in amazement. Ross and Emily started to strip.

Hey guys, you don't have to show us,' Chandler said, unnerved.

'We've got extra clothes on,' Emily explained. 'We just taking the extras off.'

I'm impressed,' Joey said, to Ross, How did you get two pairs of pants on?'

I'm not telling you that!' Ross said.

'Why did you wear all these clothes?' Monica asked as they started packing them in their bags. It looks so uncomfortable.'

'We were over the limit with our luggage. We bought a few things,' Ross said.

'Presents?' Joey asked as the others nudged him.

'Yeah, except for you Joey,' Ross said. 'Oh all right, and for you.'

'Can we go over to the chairs? I'm tired of standing,' Phoebe said, and they all moved over to the seats, except for Monica who was keeping an eye out for Rachel.

'There you are,' Monica said, hugging Rachel as she appeared. 'Are you okay?'

'I've been better. I had to hide on the plane under this stupid hat. Everyone stared at me, I looked like such a freak. Ross owes me big time.' Rachel took off the hat, folded it and stuffed it in a bin. Two seconds later, someone fished it out again and sped down the hall with it, whooping madly.

'No accounting for tastes,' Monica said.

'So what do we do next? What's the "get rid of Rachel plan" now?' Rachel asked crossly.

'Oh Rach,' Monica said.

'I'm tired Mon. I shouldn't have gone.'

'Never mind, you're home now.' They hugged again. 'I thought we could hide your stuff, you could say hello, like you've never been anywhere, and then Joey and Chandler could take your stuff to the cab rank when the others aren't looking, and Joey could take your stuff back. We could always say he'd met a girl. Meanwhile you're with the rest of us.'

'Okay,' Rachel said. Was she ready to see Emily? Well she was going to, ready or not. She could leave it until they were at Central Perk, or they could get it over with.

'Look,' Monica said, 'Rachel's finally arrived.'

'Hi Rachel,' Ross said. Monica made signs to Chandler.

'Hi Rachel,' Emily said. Chandler made puzzled, I-don't-know-what-you-mean signs to Monica.

'Hi Ross, Hi Emily,' said Rachel. Monica made impatient signs to Chandler. 'Did you have a good honeymoon?'

'Yeah,' Ross said, while Chandler's face wore the oh-I-get-it-now expression. 'We did a lot of sight seeing.'

'That's good,' Rachel said, while Chandler elbowed Joey.

'What?' Joey said. Everyone looked at him. 'Oh er nothing,' he said.

'Hey,' said Emily, 'There's a hat like the one in the plane.' She pointed to her left and while the others turned to look at the person running around in the sombrero, shrieking out Aye Carumba! Joey and Chandler picked up Rachel's bags and ducked into the crowd.

'Someone wore that on the plane?' Phoebe asked.

'Yes,' Emily said. It was really rather bizarre.'

'I've heard of cosmic radiation on flights but I wouldn't think that a straw hat would help much,' mused Phoebe.

'Where'd Chandler and Joey go?' Ross asked, looking around.

'After some girl,' Monica said. Emily shot her a look of inquiry, and she realised that she'd raised the possibility that Chandler might be equally interested in some other girl. 'I expect Chandler's just going along to see that Joey doesn't get himself into trouble.'

He'd certainly better be,' Emily said. That made Rachel, Ross and Phoebe shoot both Monica and Emily a look of inquiry, and Emily added, 'I suppose Joey doesn't want his present.'

'Oh he'll be back when he remembers,' Ross said. 'I think we should go back now, and we can have present giving at our apartment.'

'Except for this,' Emily said. 'I saw this in Athens and thought it would suit you.' To Ross's surprise, he realised that Emily was talking to handed over a small gold wrapped package. 'That whole business with the wedding can't have been nice for you either,' Emily said. 'With people talking and asking questions.' Dumbfounded, Rachel opened the parcel.

'Oh,' she said. She held up a gold pendant on a chain. Ross recognised it as one of the ones they'd been looking at in the jewellery shop.

'It's beautiful,' Monica said.

'We bought a lot of things for everyone else, and I couldn't think of what to get you,' Emily explained. 'And when I saw that, I thought it would be nice.'

'Thankyou Emily.' Rachel glanced briefly at Ross, who was looking as shocked as everyone else. She had hoped that despite it all, this gift had been from him, a special something between them, but it was clear that it was all Emily's idea. It was frozen in her hand. You're not supposed to accept gifts from people you hate, that she knew.

Go on, put it on,' Monica urged. Did she hate Emily? And if she did, was she going to make a scene and give it back? If she made a scene, it would be a declaration of war, and she wasn't sure who would be on her side. Certainly not Ross or Monica.

Of course, it may not be the sort of thing you like,' Emily said, If you don't like it, you could give it away, I wouldn't be offended.' Suddenly, Emily was blushing, and Rachel realised that she wanted to stop her feeling so uncomfortable. So maybe she didn't hate Emily after all. Slowly she put the pendant on. It came to just the level that she liked and she wasn't sure whether she was pleased with this fact or not.

'No,' Rachel said. 'I like it.' She looked at Emily. Hey,' Chandler said, I've lost Joey. He seems to have disappeared, after some girl.'

Oh yeah,' Monica said, as they all started moving towards the exit.

No, really,' Chandler whispered. He's gone, with Rachel's stuff, after some girl. She seemed to have a foreign accent.'

Oh well,' Monica said, I think we can be sure there'll be no wedding out of that one.'

Weddings?' Rachel said, catching the end of this, No more weddings, at least not for a while.'


End file.
